Evaluation of Glucose Transport in Malignant Glioma by PET

Summary

Using dynamic PET mode and 18FDG, glucose transport in patients with gliomas were investigated. The values for transfer rate constants kl*, k2*, k3*, and glucose consumption were found to be low in the low-grade glioma as compared to those of the high-grade glioma and the contralateral cerebral cortex. The differences were statistically significant with the exception of k2*. There were no statistically significant differences between the high-grade glioma and the contralateral cerebral cortex. In contrast, the distribution volumes k1*/ k2* and k1*/(k2*+k3*) were low in high-grade glioma and the difference between the high-grade glioma and the contralateral cerebral cortex was statistically significant. A difference in k1*/ (k2*+k3*) was noted between the low-grade and the high-grade gliomas. Thus, the distribution volumes are most sensitive for differentiation between high-grade glioma and cerebral cortex.